Twitter mocks Burundi allegations on Rwanda with #GoatThiefSpy

A strange development for the past days in which the Burundi government claimed it had arrested a Rwandan spy has captivated social media as users alternately debated its motives and ridiculed them.

It began late last week when Burundian security officials paraded a man who identified himself as Cyprien Rucyahintare, from the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF). He narrated to local and international media that he had been sent to set in motion a destabilisation campaign for the government in Rwanda.

The Bujumbura authorities had more. The media was told Rucyahintare is matriculate No. 284,049 in the Rwandan army.

It is this particular number that left social media wondering how a functioning government can be fooled to that extent. It also emerged from the Rwanda ministry of defense that it has no numbering reaching that level.

This and other bits of information released by the Burundian authorities left social media in a big party.

â€œOur army will reach this number like in 30 years to come!,â€ tweeted one enthusiast, along with a coined hashtag #GoatThiefSpy, which has been used by hundreds since Wednesday.

The hashtag is born from a combination of information that emerged from Rwanda about Rucyahintare. According to his family in rural eastern Rwanda where he lived until he disappeared, and court documents, Rucyahintare is a thief the local community would rather never returns.

His father and neighbors say he had stolen goats from the community before disappearing. After bailing him out on previous occasions for other cases, his father had vowed never to do it again. The next the family heard was media reports alleging their son had turned up in Burundi as a spy from Rwanda.

In voices and videos circulating of the father, he laughs out loud when told by journalists that his son could have joined the army without his knowledge.

Social media has simply exploded with similar sentiments. Here is a sample:

The hashtag has also attracted angry Burundians from inside and outside who have denounced their government since the crisis in their country erupted in May last year. There have been previous hashtags but Twitter analytics are trending #GoatThiefSpy due to the volume of participants.